PCRS-UK Research Newsletter
Welcome to the first edition of the PCRS-UK Research newsletter. This a new initiative to share research news with all those engaged or interested in primary care respiratory research. We aim to share summaries of relevant recently published papers (this issue we have exciting research on the trial of breathing retraining for asthma, and physical activity after pulmonary rehabilitation), information which might be useful for researchers (here about Kudos site), recent news, such as the summary of the recent ARNS conference, and a rolling ‘Spotlight on…’ series featuring different academic groups (this time, the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research tell all). There is also a summary of what PCRS-UK can offer researchers and links to a prioritisation survey closing soon which is likely to be of relevance to researchers or anyone who has been involved in a clinical trial - it only take a few minutes to complete and it would be great to have contributions from lots of primary care researchers.
We’ll send a newsletter several times a year but articles will be saved longer term on the research pages of the PCRS-UK website. Please do get in touch if you would like to write a short article, share your research, or feature in our ‘Spotlight on…’ series in future!
Enjoy! And hope to see many of you at the pre-conference research workshop and conference in September.
Ann Hutchinson (Newsletter Editor) and Helen Ashdown (PCRS-UK Research Lead)
 What can PCRS-UK offer researchers by Helen Ashdown (PCRS-UK Research Lead/University of Oxford)
In recent years the research arm of PCRS-UK has been going from strength to strength, with researchers from across the UK, from many professional backgrounds and career stages getting involved. Here’s a reminder of what PCRS-UK can offer researchers.
I would recommend all researchers consider using the Kudos site to help them disseminate their work widely by using plain language to describe what your research is about and why it is important.
  Systematic review of the facilitators and barriers to physical activity after pulmonary rehabilitation by Hayley Robinson (University of Lincoln) and Veronika Williams, University of Oxford
Pulmonary rehabilitation improves quality of life and exercise capacity in the short term. However, we are less clear on how to maintain these improvements over time. To understand the patients’ perspective of the barriers and facilitators of physical activity after pulmonary rehabilitation, researchers conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies. The results suggest that the main facilitators and barriers to patients’ maintenance of physical activity were centred around patients’ beliefs, social support and environment. The findings have important implications for future research in this area.
 The Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists (ARNS) conference 2018 by Emma Ray (NIHR CLAHRC Wessex)
The Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists (ARNS) continues to grow from strength to strength since its inception in 1997. ARNS seeks to provide a unique environment for specialist respiratory nurses to share and promote best practice, guide the direction of clinical care as well as influencing government policy. Their annual conference is a culmination of this work, and this year it was held in the Reading Hilton on the 4th-5th May, 2018.
 Breathing retraining for asthma: the Breathe trial and patient website - - by Emma Ray.
Lancet Respir Med 2018; 6: 19–28. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30474-5
Spotlight On...
In each issue of the research newsletter we will be providing a spotlight on different research centres across the UK. If you would like to have your research centre included please contact us.
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For our first newsletter we are shining a spotlight on the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research. Find out more about who they are and what they are doing …
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- Survey from the PRioRiTyII (Prioritising Retention in Randomised Trials) looking for the most important areas for research into participant retention in clinical trials – 3 minutes to complete. Amanda Roberts, PCRS-UK Lay Reference Group, tells us more about this:
What are the most important questions about methods for #trialretention? Pick the 10 most important
There is currently a Priority Setting Partnership working with a group of patients, patient advocates, researchers and trial staff looking at trial retention. In our first survey (which closed in May) we heard from nearly 500 people, including members of the public (or their parents or carers) who have been invited to take part or have taken part in a trial, front line clinical and research staff. They told us about their experiences and their priorities for future research on trial retention. Following careful analysis of every response, a list of potential questions for research was developed and checked against existing evidence to make sure that they were not already answered.
We now have a list of 27 questions for research around retention in trials and we’re asking people to choose the ones they think are most important. We want to hear from everyone affected by clinical trials.
It’s really important that researchers involved in trials and patients invited to participate in a trial answer this survey. When research happens in future, we want it to be research that makes a real difference to the lives of people who participate in trials, design and deliver trials, and funders and regulators.
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